


Operation Sterek

by CupcakeTerminal



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Pack Bonding, Pack Feels, Team Sterek, There is MUCH FLUFF, This is for Forwardish as part of the AO3 auction, also Lydia is the best
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-12
Updated: 2013-06-12
Packaged: 2017-12-14 18:08:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,204
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/839821
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CupcakeTerminal/pseuds/CupcakeTerminal
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"They’d sacrifice Isaac on the altar of 'Sterek'."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Operation Sterek

**Author's Note:**

  * For [dish](https://archiveofourown.org/users/dish/gifts).



> I wrote this for the wonderful [Forwardish](http://archiveofourown.org/users/forwardish/), who is an absolute doll and so much fun to talk to. It was written as a part of the AO3 auction, and this is the (shortened) prompt, "I'd like to see a fic where Scott is the one who ends up sort of realizing that Derek and Stiles are stupid about each other and yet a) refusing to do anything about it (Derek) and b) clueless that the other feels the same way (Stiles) and ends up being a reluctant matchmaker." 
> 
> I was already really excited to write this, and then Danny/Isaac was mentioned and my brain took off. 
> 
> As always, a huge thank you to my beta readers! [Amanda](http://i-louvre-art.tumblr.com/), who fanned the flames of belief, and [Kate](http://shadowedwords.tumblr.com/), who told me "no" a lot.

Isaac woke when he heard a floorboard creak ominously. He was still tired and groggy, until he felt the bed beside him dip. His wrecked nerves screamed danger. The alpha pack! He jolted upwards, not realizing he was near the edge of the bed, and falling hard onto the floor. 

He groaned but quickly opened his eyes, shifting them hastily around the room. 

He was greeted with the sight of Scott’s face inches above him. 

“Isaac, dude, we gotta talk. It’s Stiles.”

His head thumped back with a resigned sigh, “While I appreciate your friendship, in the future can we keep the talks to daylight hours?”

Scott didn’t even blink, and Isaac noticed the tense, nervous energy in his stance and the worry seeped in his eyes. 

Isaac’s attitude shifted from annoyed and slightly relieved to wary, as he asked, “Is he okay?”

Scott tilted his head to the side, “What? Oh, yeah! He’s fine. This is about him _and Derek_. His scent is all over Stiles’ yard!”

Scott said this like it was a revelation, but Isaac raised an eyebrow and let his body flop back onto the floor, “Dude, you must have realized how they get around each other.”

Scott blinked, “What do you mean?”

“They have obvious feelings for one another.”

“Well, yeah,” Scott mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck, “Sexual feelings, you can smell it all over the both of them. That isn’t what this is about though. They aren’t actually having sex. Derek’s scent doesn’t even go inside, it’s just in the yard...looming.”

Isaac got up with a huff, “Look, you know that sharp scent that’s always in the air around them?”

“Yeah?”

“That’s lust.”

Scott rolled his eyes, “Uh-huh. I know.”

“Right, and that warm, honey smell that started to pop up in the last few months? That’s not.”

Scott’s face scrunched, as Isaac continued, “I’m not sure what you’d call it, but it means something more than just a physical attraction.”

“But they haven’t said anything.”

Isaac looked up at that and noticed the genuine confusion on Scott's face, god help him. 

“Scott, imagine if you developed feelings for someone you not only work closely with but were also close friends with. You need this person to trust you, and they've never shown any visible interest in you sexually. That isn't even considering the added complication of it being two men. Stiles has no reason to think Derek is even interested in him physically. Do you really think Stiles will risk a safe relationship for something he has no hope of?" 

Scott thought about it and shrugged sadly, "That sucks."

Isaac nodded, "Yeah, well, buckle up. Derek's is worse. Remember the time he told us all about Kate?"

Scott shuddered. That had been a horrifically informative pack meeting. 

"Exactly. How do you think he views Stiles?” Isaac paused to push himself upward off the floor, rising only to fall bodily back into his bed, “He sees him as a younger version of himself who would always regret anything Derek starts between them."

“Well that’s wrong,” Scott protested.

“I agree, but Derek doesn’t want to be Kate.”

Scott thought for a moment, before stating with an expression of stunned disbelief, "So you're basically saying they're both too afraid to even _try_?" 

Isaac rolled his eyes, "Yeah, they're both ridiculous, but that's the situation." 

Scott sighed and sat heavily on the bed, "You realize we have to fix this, right?" 

Isaac let out a sigh of his own and added morosely, "I figured you'd want us to at least try." 

They were able to keep martyred expression on their faces until they looked at one another, then in unison they broke into giggles.

Scott, cackling, as he huffed, "Oh god, this is going to end badly." 

Isaac forced his features to look serious once more before saying, " It's for their own good," but the quirk of his lips betrayed his glee.

When their laughter subsided, Scott looked over at Isaac his expression sobering, "You think we can help?" 

"I know we can. They can't keep going like this." 

Scott nodded, before pushing his hand towards Isaac's palm down, "Hands in. On the count of three, operation get them the fuck together." 

Isaac's brow twitched, " Or get them to fuck together?" 

Scott hit his face with a pillow. 

~  
They decided to start simple, a fake date. They’d sacrifice Isaac on the altar of “Sterek”.

_“Scott, we’re not calling this Operation Sterek.”_

_“Why? That’s a great name!”_

The plan was to invite both Derek and Stiles out to movie and a dinner with Isaac. They’d wait until Isaac was ten minutes late, before he’d call them upset and apologetic saying he had a school project come up last minute. They would then set up surveillance outside the restaurant to make sure all went well. It couldn’t fail. 

Except that they had forgotten that Derek could hear lies. 

Now, they were ducked outside of the shabby diner watching Stiles’ eyebrows rise as he listened to Derek ask Isaac why he was lying. Isaac’s gaze shot up to meet Scott’s panicked look. His eyes were wide, and Scott listened to his loud heartbeat. 

He mouthed, “What do I say?”

Scott shook his head and bit his lip. 

A voice thankfully interrupted their mad scrambling, “Isaac? What are you doing here?”

Isaac looked over to see Danny. Oh, perfect! 

“Sorry, Danny. I was, you know, explaining to Derek why I had to cancel on him. I told him something, well, came up.” Isaac forced an embarrassed chuckle that didn’t match the way he mimed begging to Danny with pleading eyes. 

He and Danny had been spending more time together now that he knew about werewolves. They told Danny last year after he began dating one of the alpha twins. When alpha pack left, he seemed to naturally slip into Derek’s pack. Isaac understood. It was hard to realize that there was this whole world that you weren’t allowed to talk about with anyone. The pack helped not only to provide security, but to normalize everything as well. Isaac liked Danny, and they always seemed to end up playing video games or grabbing food together.

Danny looked confused, but said, “Tell him that we had to, um, talk?” his voice sounded questioning at the end, but Isaac gave him an enthusiastic thumbs up. 

Isaac gulped, “There you go Derek.”

Scott looked over toward the diner’s window and saw Stiles’ head thrown back in laughter. He winked with exaggerated flirtatiousness at Derek before putting his head onto the table, shoulders shaking. Derek, well, Scott saw the way he looked fondly and hopelessly at Stiles, especially when he knew Stiles couldn’t see him, and, damn it, this had better work. 

Isaac hung up on Derek and turned to Danny, before blushing and giving him a hesitant smile, “Thanks.”

Danny shrugged, “Anytime. You were a wreck,” he gave Isaac a small smile of his own. 

Scott glanced between the two, before thinking for a moment, “Danny, would you like to join Operation Sterek?”

Together, Isaac and Danny said, “We’re not calling it that!” and “What?” respectively. 

~  
The fake date goes well, but not as well as any of the now three co-conspirators had hoped. Derek and Stiles had stayed and eaten at the diner. Stiles was visibly excited that the fresh spring air was just starting to warm up, so he insisted loudly on walking to the movies. They all watched Derek give in. Stiles had gotten cold during the walk, and Derek had handed his jacket over wordlessly. This caused Scott to reach out and slap almost violently at Isaac’s arm as he squeaked, while Danny threw his hands into the air exasperated. 

Derek and Stiles entered the movie, and Team Sterek ducked in after them. The movie was actually pretty good, but the three of them were careful to stay dead silent in the back, afraid that if they spoke or laughed once, Derek would recognized their voices. They texted each other to argue about the operation’s name, and also what the next step should be. 

The three watched as Stiles and Derek shared popcorn and leaned in to whisper things into the other’s ear. Stiles would hold out popcorn absently for Derek to take, and Derek naturally put his arm over Stiles’ chair. Team Sterek (of Operation Sterek) kept shooting looks at each other and texting in all capital letters about their frustration. 

“HOW DO THEY NOT REALIZE THEY’RE IN LOVE!!!???”

“I NO! ANY1 WATCHING THEM COULD C IT!!!”

They left five minutes early to ensure no awkward meetings as the theater cleared with a new determination. They were going to get these two idiots to admit they were in love or give themselves aneurysms. There simply weren't any other choices.

~  
They sent them on a total of three fake dates. They finagled, wiggled, prayed, and lied their way through each of them. They subtlety switched who was supposed to meet the pair, hoping to avoid suspicion. Scott even sat through half of his coffee meetup before getting a text from “Allison”. They were being both sneaky and masterful...and absolutely nothing was happening. 

They were clever for a while, organizing a coffee, lacrosse, and even a Ikea date (Derek had a loft to furnish after all), but each one proved fruitless, ending with Derek and Stiles talking and parting easily. 

"How can they? What are they?" Danny looked bewildered. 

"We know!" Isaac and Scott groaned together. 

“I don’t understand how they could both be that oblivious! They stare at each other. How do they not know?” 

“Actually, I’m pretty sure Derek knows,” Isaac said thoughtfully. 

Danny and Scott turned to him with matching quizzical expressions. 

Isaac tapped his nose, “If we can smell it, so can he.”

He watched as the two digested that information then turned back to him, “Then why-”

“Won’t he do something about it? I don’t know. Probably weird misplaced Derek-guilt. You know how he gets. I was hoping that by spending more time with him, he’d realize that Stiles is a fully functional adult capable of making his own choices.”

Scott sighed, “Time for phase two then.”

Isaac looked nervous, “Scott, do I want to know?”

“We lock them in a closet until they crack.”

Danny hit his head onto the desk, “That isn’t a solution!”

“We’ve tried the normal way!”

“So, we don’t do normal,” Isaac said, a light dawning in his eyes.

“What are you planning now?” Danny asked, his face still squished against the desk.

“No, hear me out,” Isaac said, gaining steam, “Derek and Stiles are a ridiculous story, right? I mean he’s older, powerful, and they met completely by chance. They started out immediately attracted to one another, then denied it, and now both ignore it stubbornly. They want to be together but are afraid to be or something. Then they save each other’s lives what ten times now?” he looks over for confirmation.

Scott shakes his head, “No, only nine. Stiles has a punch card. When he reaches ten, he gets a prize.”

“Of course he does,” Danny sighed.

“All I’m saying is, they fit every romantic movie stereotype. Why would normal techniques work on them? We have to use the stuff that works in movies. I mean they have three people actively trying to help them, and that’s failing. We have to take it up a level.”

“...and you suggest?”

“We have a planning meeting.”

~  
The planning meeting involved ten romantic comedies, popcorn, and Allison. 

“We needed help,” Scott shrugged from where he was sitting with his arm wrapped around her. 

Isaac and Danny glanced at each other, then shrugged. 

“Welcome to Team Sterek.”

~  
“We could do that,” Scott nodded.

“What? Hold a dance competition, force them to pair up, fire Derek, then have him win said competition after telling Stiles that nobody sticks him in the corner?”

“...yeah.”

“We’ll put that in the maybe pile.”

“I think it should go in the desperate pile.”

“Fine,” Isaac chucked Dirty Dancing onto the pile labeled “God help us if we get this desperate”. Unfortunately, that pile’s stack was building up.

~  
“Can we stop?” Isaac called tiredly from where he was resting on the floor with his feet propped up on Danny.

“I swear we already saw this one,” Danny moaned. 

“No, That was Friends with Benefits. This is No Strings Attached,” Scott replies curtly.

Allison has taken to shooting the screen with a nerf gun, and Isaac is desperately trying to remember a movie that didn’t end cornily. 

“They damn well better appreciate this,” Danny mutters, hands resting on Isaac’s’ legs. 

~  
The four of them all crawled away to their respective houses the next day and slept, dreaming of cliches and boring happy endings. When they reconvened the following night, they all had a plan. 

“We lock them in a closet.”

“Scott, ” Allison said, “I know. That would probably work to get them to make out, but we don’t want to deal with the eventual awkward “we made out and refuse to deal with it” moment.

“Fair point,” Scott said, sitting with a pout.

“I was thinking we go classic,” Allison continued, “jealously.”

Isaac tipped his head to the side, “What like we all hang around Stiles and wait for Derek to go all caveman on him?”

Allison shook her head, “Nope, only one of us. Someone who hasn’t had any luck romantically, but has always enjoyed spending time with Stiles. Someone who spends a lot of time with Derek too, so he can’t intimidate him or make him leave. It would be amazing if that person lived with Derek too, because then it would make sense for them to spend time with Stiles in plain sight of Derek.”

Isaac shrugged, “Yeah, but what are the chances- damn, you mean me.”

Allison cheeks dimpled as she grinned, causing Isaac to sigh heavily. 

Danny looked uncomfortable, "You don't have to Isaac."

Isaac smiled at Danny and gave his shoulder a quick squeeze, "Thank you, but it'll be fine. Stiles isn't the worst person to be forced to spend time with." 

Scott looked thoughtful, "Do I defend Stiles' honor to the group designed to force him into slightly awkward situations with his crush or let it go?"

Danny sighed and clapped him lightly on the shoulder, "Dude, we all love Stiles or we wouldn't be here.”

Scott laughed and nodded happily. 

-  
They decided to start gradually. Sure, Isaac and Stiles were friends, but the type that needed a third to really feel comfortable. He, Stiles, and Scott were the usual group. The plan was another simple forced date, this time of the friendship variety. 

The three sat down to grab some food, before Scott's mom called to ask for a ride. Scott had apologized and Stiles waved it off. Isaac had shrugged, "We get it, go help your mom."

Scott winked at him, thankfully after Stiles had turned to the waiter, and left.

Stiles sighed, "What is up with everyone and leaving lately. It's like everyone has something going on every spare second. I'm beginning to feel lazy." 

Isaac couldn't stop the light laughter from leaving him at Stiles’ disgruntlement. When Stiles looked up, he saw humor there, but also a little actual worry. Isaac could see that he had phrased it as a joke, but a part of him was actually nervous that he was falling behind. 

"Stiles, it's the summer before our senior year. Not only do you have a job, but you fought off a group of alphas, kept straight A's, and had to explain to your dad why we may have accidentally blown up some of the school. There are times I honestly don't know how you do it all. Remember that all night stakeout you had?"

Everyone in the pack knows the story. Stiles tells the story humorously and with a lot of extra sass. Derek tells it like he's still haunted by what might have happened. 

The stakeout was scheduled to only be an hour. It had been just Derek and Stiles watching to see if the alpha pack was using a rundown warehouse on the outskirts of town. Unfortunately, they were. 

Stiles had taken the extra precaution of coating the car in mountain ash, but the alpha pack found them. Stiles and Derek spent the night running wildly from the alphas, their combined scent trail making it impossible to get away. 

Finally, Stiles had pointed to a car wash and after a minor exhaustion fueled debate, Derek had agreed. They washed the car, hoping to disguise any lingering scent, and it eventually caused them to lose the pack somewhere around four in the morning. 

Stiles had walked into school the next day and presented an essay assigned the day before by his first period teacher. Honestly, Isaac is still constantly impressed by Stiles' ability to function seemingly just on spunk and determination. 

Isaac, glancing at Stiles sitting across from him, said quietly, "You're doing great,” and received a rare, honest smile as the waiter approached with their food. 

-  
Isaac and Stiles meet up at Derek's for a video game marathon that quickly turns into a LAN party after they realized they both play the same mmorpg. They're laughing and Isaac is gesturing wildly for Stiles' to follow his character (into a dark, creepy cave), when Derek walks in. He glances around at the pizza boxes, computers and abandoned X-Box with a quirked eyebrow. 

"Dude, tell Isaac that caves have trolls, and trolls are scary!" Stiles calls out to him. 

"You're high enough level, you wimp." 

"Being cautious isn't wimpy. It's strategic!"

Derek walked almost cautiously over to peer at Stiles’ screen. 

"Stiles," he said, voice icily calm, "why is your character named HaleYes?"

"Because he's a werewolf, and I'm hilarious?"

Derek looked at him, until Stiles continued with, "...and because I bought you your nasty pineapple and sausage monstrosity of a pizza?"

Derek snorts and grabs for the pizza box. 

He sat practically on top of Stiles as he peered at his screen and folded the greasy piece of pizza. Stiles looked from the dangling pizza to Derek's stuffed cheeks and raised his lip, "Dude."

"What?" Derek asked with a full mouth. 

Stiles gestured at Derek, "Plates are good. We believe in plates, and we believe in you. Don't fail us now." 

Derek rolled his eyes and grabbed a napkin. 

Stiles sighed, "Well, that's at least progress." 

Isaac laughed softly, and Stiles shot him a grin. They kept playing with Derek occasionally interjecting and pointing towards Stiles' screen. He asked questions sometimes, but mainly amused himself watching them. 

When Stiles and Isaac both died because of "motherfucking trolls, thank you very much, Isaac," he got up with a snort. 

"I've seen enough."

"Oh, you're leaving?" 

"Stiles, as entertaining as it is to watch you die, watching you run monotonously for ten minutes from the graveyard is, oddly enough, not."

Stiles stuck his tongue out at Derek, but grinned when Derek rolled his eyes. 

Derek stretched then walked toward the door with a quick backwards wave, "I have to check in with Scott anyway. I'll see you both in a bit."

"Good. Alphas who collaborate...”

"...continue to respirate. Yeah, yeah. You've mentioned it before. "

Isaac laughed again as Derek shut the front door. 

-  
Isaac spent the week with Stiles and was surprised by how fun it had been. When it came time for his weekly meeting with Team Sterek, he didn't have much to report. 

"I mean yeah Derek comes and hangs out with us sometimes, but he doesn't act weirdly when we're together. I even asked if I could hang out with just Stiles to try and make him defensive and he mentioned that it was ‘nice to see us getting along’. His heartbeat was steady."

The entire room groaned except for Danny who awkwardly cleared his throat, "Did you and Stiles have a good time?" 

Isaac smiled and felt himself blush a little, "Yeah, you know, we did. He makes me laugh a lot." 

"Uh, so you're sure you still want to help Operation Sterek?"

Isaac, confused, tried to meet Danny's eyes, but they were shifting around the room, 

"Why would I want to stop?" 

Danny did look up then, "Oh."

Isaac's brow furrowed. He was going to ask Danny what that meant, but Scott interrupted the moment, "We're idiots." 

"What?" 

Scott’s eyes were shut tightly. This time when he spoke it came out as a loud moan, "Such idiots."

Isaac repeated himself a little louder this time, "What? C'mon, Scott, what?"

"Lydia," Scott said, dropping his head into his hands. 

Allison tilted her head to the side, "Sweetheart, Lydia and Stiles are just friends now. I think whatever feelings he had for her, romantically at least, are gone. I don't think that would get in the way of-"

"No. I mean getting Lydia's help."

The three stared at Scott then at each other, before Allison groaned, "We are idiots."

-  
Allison called her immediately, and she was there in less than fifteen minutes. 

"Well, let's hear what you've tried so far. Let me guess, you used romantic comedies for research.”

Scott explained and with each new plan, Lydia's eyebrows rose. When he got to their jealousy plan, she gave them all a look, "Seriously? Isaac, do you have any interest in Stiles romantically?"

"No. If I did, why would I be helping with Operation Sterek?"

She inclined her head as if she expected this answer, "So if you and Scott can both smell intent, why did you expect Derek to think you were interested?"

Isaac's mouth opened, then closed, then opened again to say, "Yeah, okay, you win. We should have called you earlier."

Lydia gave him a brief nod then tossed her hair, "There's an obvious solution here, and I'm surprised none of you realized it. Especially you, Scott."

Scott grumbled a little, but Lydia continued, "Derek can smell Stiles' attraction, sure, but Stiles can't smell Derek's. He has no idea there's even a chance. We all know Stiles. If there's a possibility, no matter how slim, that he can have something he wants, he'll go after it."

Scott was already dialing Stiles' phone. He pressed the speaker button and they all waited, holding their breath.

When Stiles answered, Scott blurted out, "Derek loves you. Get on that, ugh, but not like literally. I love you, but there are things I don't need to envision.”

There was silence before, "I swear to God, Scott. This is the lamest thing you've ever done." 

It was obvious that he was going to hang up, but five different voices yelled, “Wait!”

“Do you have me on _speakerphone_!?” Stiles asked, voice incredulous and angry. 

“No! Well, yes, but only because it’s not a joke!” Scott scrambled with his phone. 

Lydia cut in quickly, before this derailed into an argument between the two, “Stiles, I’m here. It’s true.”

Stiles reply to Scott cut off in the middle, and it was quiet for a beat, before, “Shit. Shit, it’s true?”

“Yes. He thinks you’re too young to make a decision. Go tell him why that he’s wrong, loudly and graphically.”

Stiles chuffed, “You have no idea,” before hanging up. 

Lydia smiled at their stunned faces, “That went well, don’t you think?”

-  
From what Isaac had heard, Derek was surprised when Stiles showed up at his house yelling about idiocy and statutory rape, but pleasantly so. They haven’t thanked Team Sterek, choosing instead to glare and mutter about meddling and privacy to each member of the group. Scott and Isaac had both grinned through the whole lecture, noticing the way Stiles and Derek’s hands were clasped loosely together. 

There was however one thing no member of Team Sterek had considered. They were obnoxious. Stiles and Derek were nearly constantly draped over each other. Derek got all snippy when Stiles didn’t smell like him, and Stiles liked to kiss...a lot.

The thing is Isaac should have gotten annoyed; they were clingy, needy, and ridiculous. He had every reason to be frustrated except...except that they were so damn cute. 

Team Sterek had been right. They worked shockingly, perfectly well. 

It made sense to Isaac that Stiles loved to be spoiled. Stiles had spent his life taking care of others, from his dad to the entirety of the pack. This was the first time he had the opportunity to be pampered, and Derek was indulgent. It also tripled Stiles' already protective nature towards Derek. He fought hard against any unnecessary risk and reminded Derek at every turn that he mattered. Derek had moments where he looked absolutely shocked like he was so unused to anyone caring. These moments Stiles would tut and wrap himself tightly around Derek, while the others quietly left the room, though not before noticing the way Derek collapsed into Stiles. 

Derek was much more obvious about it. He would go to hug Stiles, visible restrain himself, then, with an expression of wonder on his face, _remember_. He was allowed to hug, kiss, scent, and even cuddle Stiles now as much as he wanted, as much as he _needed_. Every member of the pack had caught Derek staring at Stiles with a large, goofy smile on his face. Isaac had never seen anyone so enamored before. 

-  
Team Sterek reconvened for a celebration meeting later that month. They met at a restaurant and clinked their glasses together cheering, “To Operation Sterek!”

Danny and Isaac talked as Allison and Scott made eyes at each other, and Lydia flirted shamelessly with their waiter. They made plans to hang out more, and Isaac was able to admit, at least to himself, that he would miss seeing Danny so often. He likes to think maybe Danny looked a little melancholy when they parted ways towards the end of the night. 

They kept in contact frequently, but, to Isaac’s disappointment, didn’t see each other as often. They were fortunate enough to spend some accidental time together later that month, because Scott had to leave early from a study session. The same thing happened a week later with Stiles, but Isaac only thought it was a happy coincidence until...

“Danny, are we locked in a closet?”

“It would appear so, Isaac.”

Stiles had invited Scott, Danny, and Allison to Derek’s loft in the guise of having a movie night.

Derek had walked down the stairs and raised his eyebrow at everyone gathered on the couch. Stiles had thrust a bowl of popcorn at him and given him a buttery peck on the lips. He'd stayed through one movie, but eventually gotten up after cupping Stiles face with his hands and kissing him soundly. He pulled away and gave everyone a significant look, saying, "Have fun.". 

When a flushed and obviously aroused Stiles didn't follow Derek out of the room, it really should have tipped Isaac off that something was planned. 

He’d gotten up to get drinks, and Danny had offered to help. Unfortunately the dishes were kept in a little pantry area that had a door, a door that wasn’t opening no matter how hard Isaac hit it. 

“What the hell? Is this mountain ash?”

Isaac heard Stiles’ gleeful chuckle, “Regular wood wouldn’t hold you in. We went all out.” 

Isaac turned, face lined with dread to Danny, “They made a new Team, didn’t they?”

“Oh definitely, that’s not even a question,” Isaac’s first instinct to respond with excuses and embarrassment was cut off by Danny’s next sentence, ”I’m kind of curious what they named us though.”

Isaac looked over to Danny, incredulously, but he just shrugged, “Well, think about it. Our names don’t combine well.”

Clearly Danny had decided to make the best of their friend’s deluded antics. Isaac blew out a breath, “Disaac?”

“That sounds like a kidney disease.”

“Isaany?”

“Nope, too much like a weird literary term.”

“Mahealahey?”

“Actually, that one isn’t too bad. We’ll call ourselves that,” he affirmed. 

Isaac huffed sarcastically, “Well good, our official name is settled. I was so worried.”

Danny grinned, “Yeah, too bad you’re straight. Would’ve made a good T-shirt.”

Isaac shrugged, “I like who I like, doesn’t matter what equipment.”

He’d mentioned it almost casually, while still examining the door, so he missed the dumbstruck look cross Danny’s face, “Oh.”

Isaac nodded still absentmindedly, before feeling a hand settle onto his shoulder. He turned to find Danny staring at him.

“Well this is a cliche.”

Isaac furrowed his brow, “What?”

“Gay dude likes straight jock. Jock and gay dude are locked in a closet. Straight dude comes out of the closet both physically and metaphorically. Happy ending. Roll credits,” Danny intoned, feeling a little shocked and a lot stupid. 

Now it was Isaac’s turn to gasp, “Oh.”

He stepped forward to cup Danny’s face softly with one hand, “We have weeks to catch up on.”

When Danny laughed and leaned forward, Isaac met his lips with a kiss. Something delicate, burning, and wonderfully safe flared between them. It felt like maybe this could be the home Isaac had been missing. He devoted a few happy moments to exploring the sensation of kissing Danny. 

They pulled away eventually, but Isaac tipped his head to settle into the crook of Danny’s neck. There under the Armani and the warm, grassy smell that was Danny at his simplest, was something sharp but entirely foreign to Isaac. Something he knew he wanted investigate later. 

They stayed like that for a moment, Isaac mentally adjusting to the idea that affection could come without demanding he hold up to impossible expectations. He remembered the way Danny had been more careful with him lately, more gentle, like maybe Isaac was something precious, like maybe he was special. He thought of the soft glances and the shy gestures that had become more common lately, and he wanted to hit himself upside the head. How had he not noticed?

Isaac let his face press more definitely into Danny’s skin and smiled. Danny’s hands wrapped more firmly around his hips, and he shifted their bodies closer together. He felt himself exhale and melt further into Danny, leaning up for another kiss.

Yeah, Isaac could get used to this. He was surrounded by Danny’s scent, and Danny’s body, and that happy, bubbly feeling that was always associated with him. When Danny opened his mouth hesitantly, the kiss went from sweet and chaste to the kind that made Isaac flush for entirely different reasons. The kind that made him push even closer and moan lightly, before being interrupted by a loud cough. 

"Not that young love isn't absolutely precious," Derek made a face equating the word precious to something akin to a flesh eating disease, "I draw the line at teenagers having orgasms in my closet." 

Isaac felt his face heat as he glanced hesitantly at Danny who looked completely unapologetic while muttering, “Unless it’s Stiles.” 

Derek leveled his best glare at them, but was ignored however as Danny took Isaac's hand, smiling so widely that his cheeks dimpled, and began pulling him toward the door. 

Just as it closed, Isaac heard Stiles say, "Well done, Team Awesome!"

**Author's Note:**

> Manda is desperate for me to add that originally the end of this story read, “They stepped out of the closet and into the conveniently placed sunset of true love. Derek and Stiles following closely behind riding unicorns as they threw glitter.”
> 
>  
> 
> [My tumblr](http://cupcaketerminal.tumblr.com/)

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Operation Stucky](https://archiveofourown.org/works/3771970) by [IJustReallyLikeFluff](https://archiveofourown.org/users/IJustReallyLikeFluff/pseuds/IJustReallyLikeFluff)




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